Yangon

‘yangon is as modern as myanmar gets’, writes the lonely planet. reading this, then knowing about the social situation in the country, and considering the political one too gives rise to many thoughts. the most tricky ones probably regarded the decision whether to go or not. while there is definitely a lot to see and experience, the downturn could be that some of the money spend still goes to the oppressive military regime. in my case, this was less likely since i didn’t travel within the country, nor booked myself in one of the governmental-run hotels.

still, my respect for this trip was definitely larger than with any trip before. though i heard from many people who have been traveling there safely, it is nevertheless a friable situation. don’t ask why i still went there – and why i plan to go there again for my last weeks in south east asia …

one possible answer might be given by the pictures you can view online. another are the people i met. people that have this inquisitiveness – a thirst for knowledge about the foreigner and the world he comes from. one evening, one chinese-originated guy and me had a little chat over a beer. his friend was listening as we talked about football (CLASSIC TRAVEL TOPIC). suddenly, he asked whether obama has the ability to change the world, and continued the chat about the current economic crisis. as i started to explain what i think about the impact, about obama, about possible outcomes, more and more people sat next to me and listened to my words. twelve people, of whom half of them did not even understand the language, listened, nodded, smiled. and me, i suddenly became the ambassador of the western world. that was not easy, as i really had to think what i’m going to tell these people (since the current situation is not a positive one, unfortunately). they don’t know much about the world –they know david beckham though, hehe ….

moments likes these happened quite often – four, five times a day. people stopped me on the way, smiled and greeted, invited me for coffee or tea to practice their english and listen to what i had to tell about the world. and i asked my questions, as far as they were ‘politically correct’. from all experiences i made during my time in yangon, these were definitely the most remarkable ones.

yangon is as modern as myanmar gets. i’m still confused about that sentence. if this was the most modern part, how does the rest of the country look like? yangon, the former capital, without atms. with dusty, crumbled streets and sidewalks. with blackouts, 10 – 12 hours everyday, sometimes longer. with taxis that in most cases consist of their white, iron body – and not much more interior.

the whole city seems to be a market, with people selling everything among fruits & veggies, screws, dvds, clothes – you name it, they have it. as the pictures show, they sit on the floor, which is just covered by a canvas cover, in the heat of the day, and skin the meat. hygiene? don’t ask for it. but enjoy the colorful hustle and bustle, which is truly one of a kind.

as mentioned, football IS of main interest, as in so many countries of south east asia. and OF COURSE it is the english premier league that gets all the attention. it is thereby not really important which teams are actually playing. people literally can discuss every game, and know more about the squads as people back in the uk.

sitting on these tiny chairs, drinking dagon beer or a myanmar whiskey (mixed with - more or less - water), people argue why (such popular teams like) sunderland ended their game against (even more popluar teams like) wolverhampton in a draw. imagine, they would show more german ‘bundesliga’: people then would debate about the game of bielefeld against wolfsburg. or even better, danish sas ligaen: the guys would constantly wonder why aarhus gf lost (and probably again) against (the very famous) vejle bk. what a hilarious image, hehe!

it certainly was fascinating trip. the noise of generators on the street (remember, loads of blackouts). the dust and exhaust fumes in the air. the local busses with no clear stops, not to mention bus schedules, but ‘employees’ who rather advertise the trip by shouting out of the vehicle. taxi drivers, who don’t know where to go because they either cannot read the hostel’s business card or map, or don’t understand due to my poor burmese language skills.

i definitely want to go back as soon as possible. to the country, where the young still hope for the better, while most elder people already seemed to give up hope for political change. the land of the thousand pagodas that has so much more to offer, and that from now on is one my favorite places in the world.

beside that, my time in Singapore is ticking away. my internship ends in about four weeks. actually, i didn’t agree that the time should pass that fast, but i guess the (also quite strict and powerful) singaporean government didn’t consider my request. well, i guess that's the kind of sign needed then that tells me: 'finish your studies' – finally.

take care!